Janet Feagans Launcelott, 78, civil rights activist dies
By Dedrick D. Henry, Sr.
Janet Launcelott died on March 28 at age 78 after being hit by a senior community bus in the East Ridge of Cultler Bay senior living community where she was a resident. Launcelott was raised as an orphan throughout New York and New Jersey for over ten years. She dedicated her life to helping others and the civil rights movement. The Rev. Harry D. Robinson, a Methodist preacher, accepted Janet in his home, where he raised her and they later attended the March On Washington in 1963. Janet received her PhD in political science from Howard University. She was once a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines; she has worked at both the University of New York and the University of Pittsburg.
In 1972, Janet became the affirmative action director at Florida International University and at Miami-Dade she was also the director of affirmative action in 1973. Launcelott was always active in the fight for equality; once her apartment was raided by Georgia State Police for a multiracial meeting in which all participants were arrested and falsely accused of disorderly conduct and being drunk. Janet was the director of the Miami- Dade Fair Housing and Employment Appeals Board for 12 years starting in 1975.
She won a seat on the South Miami City Commission in 1988 through to 1992. She was given the key to the city by South Miami in 2013.Tthis was one of the many honors she received in her lifetime for her active community involvement. The Miami Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends held a memorial service for Launcelott on Saturday. Janet dedicated most of her life to helping others and fighting for equal and gender rights. Her powerful presence will be greatly missed and forever cherished.
